Digital Technology and the Movie IndustryFilm Making

Special effects: When Disney released Tron in 1982, it was the first movie to use computer graphics extensively (Computer Graphics World, 2011). Disney had a hit on their hands, which spawned video games and a sequel, and computers graduated from enigma to possible full use in Hollywood films. In 1995, Pixar released Toy Story, the first full length computer animated film, which has spawned two sequels with another in production (Grush, 1995). Computer generated images (CGI) have continued to evolve to the point that they are almost indistinguishable from reality. Good use of CGI can bring dinosaurs to life. However, poor use can devolve into the uncanny valley, where things just don’t seem quite right. As James (2015) says, CGI has created several pitfalls for the movie industry. When done well, CGI can bring things to life, like dinosaurs, and they can seem real. However, when relied upon to do everything in a movie, they graphics are generally unconvincing. Films that are heavily reliant on CGI have less money that can be used for other important purposes like good writing and good acting. At Salt Lake Comic Con FanX 2014, actor Zach Galligan talked about the difference between practical effects and CGI. He said that the second set of Star Wars films suffered because there was too much CGI. Actors need to work off of something, and a green screen with a tennis ball just isn’t enough. At Malta Comics Expo 2014, actor Sylvester McCoy said that Ian McKellan had a similar problem on the set of The Hobbit. After several days of filming with only a green screen, McKellan cried when McCoy showed up on set. McKellan told McCoy that he became an actor because he liked people, and that acting against a green screen was not acting at all; it took the interaction of two people or more people to get the best performances.The Camera Evolves: As digital cameras evolve with better optics and the ability to capture the entire spectrum of colors, 35mm, 70mm and larger formats of film have died out. Film has evolved from the relatively small formats of 16mm and 35mm to larger formats that include 70mm. These larger formats were able to capture more detail and create more vivid motion pictures. Of course, films were tradition created on a film that had to be carried in cases. In the early days of film, a reel would run about 10 minutes long, which meant that a film of 120 minutes would have 10 reels. Each reel would have to be sent to each cinema, which meant transportation costs and the possibility of loss and reels being run out of place. With a small camera like Red One, which Stephen Soderbergh used to film Che (Lhooq, 2012), and with the advanced optics of tablets and the iPad, making films on location and by amateurs has become easier than ever. Those films do not even need to have a distributor because they can be uploaded to websites like YouTube.Delivery and consumption of filmsNew Revenue ModelsDigital Technology: Disruptive or Dynamic